Gluttony For Punishment #2

In this challenge we are eating some extremely spicy hot wings, so spicy that they cause tears, sweating and pain!

Gluttony #1

It's finally here! The first Gluttony For Punishment challenge is here and we are happy to give you a look into it. And if you like the look of what we are cooking, there are recipes for the dish at www.gluttony4punishment.com

Big thanks to the cast! We hope you enjoy

Saltiest Foods

In the food world, that thing is sodium. This mineral plays a critical role in a healthy diet and maintains the correct balance of fluids in the body, but only in small doses. Unfortunately, the average American consumes more than 3,400 milligrams of sodium every day—easily 1,000 milligrams more than the absolute maximum amount we ought to be taking in, and nearly 3,000 milligrams more than the amount our bodies need to function normally!


Why is this so dangerous? Well, for starters, a high-sodium diet can wreak havoc on your blood pressure, increasing your risk of heart attack or stroke. And frighteningly, researchers at the Scripps Research Institute found that the effects of sodium over-consumption eerily resembled those of drug addiction—meaning that the more we eat, the more we crave. That means salty foods tax you twice: They cause an initial strain on your cardiovascular system, and by tempting you to eat more salt-riddled calories, they hit you again around the waistline.


So here’s the question: How do you protect yourself from the dangers of sodium? Avoid the salt shaker? Nope—the salt you add at the table has little effect on overall sodium intake. The real culprit is restaurant food, which supplies a staggering 80 percent of the sodium in the American diet.


Every fall, the Eat This, Not That! team scours restaurant menus looking for America's saltist foods—and gives you the smartest ways to fight back and lose 10, 20, 30 pounds or more. This year's list (below), from the new guide Eat This, Not That! 2012, includes a host of new menu items along with a couple of repeat offenders. But they all have one thing in common: They're making America's cardiologists rich.

#8: Saltiest Pasta

Ruby Tuesday Mediterranean Shrimp Pasta3,737 mg sodium
1,102 calories
65 g fat 
SODIUM EQUIVALENT: 10 Large Orders of McDonald’s French Fries  
Congratulations, Ruby Tuesday! This dish makes our list for the second year in a row. How the chain manages to infuse a pasta dish with nearly two teaspoons of pure salt is beyond me. I just know that they're good at it. The chain makes only one pasta dish with fewer than 2,000 mg of sodium (almost an entire day's worth!), and it has only two pasta dishes with fewer than 3,000 mg. The other four pasta dishes on the menu each have more than 3,000 mg.

#7: Saltiest Mexican Entrée

On the Border Dos XX Fish Tacos
3,740 mg sodium2,150 calories
144 g fat (31 g saturated) 
SODIUM EQUIVALENT: 275 Tortilla Chips
There’s not a single redeeming quality about these fish tacos. For starters, they pack more nearly two days’ worth of sodium between their soft tortilla shells. Follow that up with more than a day’s worth of calories (we’re talking nearly 8 McDonald’s cheeseburgers’ worth), and as much saturated fat as you’ll find in 31 strips of bacon. Just say no.

#6: Saltiest Starter 

Applebee’s Chili Cheese Nachos
1,680 calories107 g fat (40 g saturated, 2.5 g trans)
4,270 mg sodium
SODIUM EQUIVALENT: 18.5 orders of Taco Bell’s Cheesy Nachos!
The fundamental problem with nachos is that most of the ingredients are already fully sodium-saturated foods. Chili, cheese sauce, tortilla chips, and salsa are all notoriously high in sodium, so together they create a perfect storm of blood-pressure spiking, waistline-expanding damage. Pair all of that with Applebee’s mammoth portion size, and you’re looking at roughly two days’ worth of sodium

#5: Saltiest Breakfast

IHOP Thick-Cut Bone-In Ham & Eggs
1,170 calories
61 g fat (19 g saturated)
4,310 mg sodium
SODIUM EQUIVALENT: 32 strips of Oscar Mayer Center Cut Bacon! 
Here's another two-time defending champion! This one plate provides your body with as much sodium as it would need over the course of a full week. You can still indulge your salt craving by opting for the more conservative Turkey Bacon Omelette instead. Not only are the levels far more reasonable, but the fruit side dish is filled with sodium-neutralizing potassium.

#4: Saltiest “Healthy” Entrée

Applebee's Weight Watchers Chipotle Lime Chicken
4,990 mg sodium490 calories
12 g fat (2 g saturated)

They should call this place Saltybee's, because sodium is pretty much impossible to avoid here. The six items on the Under 550 Calories menu—the "healthy" options!—average 2,341 mg of sodium per entree. The five items on the Weight Watchers menu average 2,448 mg. Even the side dishes are dangerous. A side of Loaded Mashed Potatoes will cost you 1,340 mg, and a side of Broccoli Cheddar Soup will cost you 1,660. If you eat here, you'd best make it a party of two—and bring your cardiologist with you.

#3: Saltiest Soup

P.F. Chang’s Hot and Sour Soup Bowl
400 calories  
15 g fat (5 g saturated)
5,000 mg sodium 
P.F. Chang’s has long published its nutrition data without sodium counts, and now we know why. Chinese food runs high on the sodium spectrum because of its reliance on viscous stir-fry sauces and salt-laden condiments like soy sauce. But this is an unfathomable amount of salt to pack into one 400-calorie bowl of soup. Unless you stick to vegetable sides and small servings of a few entrees (Orange Peel Beef, Lemon Scallops), you’re all but guaranteed to absorb 1 or more days’ worth of sodium in a single sitting at P.F. Chang’s

#2: Saltiest Burger

Chili’s Jalapeno Smokehouse Bacon Burger with Ranch Dressing2,210 calories
144 g fat (46 g saturated)
6,600 mg sodium
SODIUM EQUIVALENT: 6.5 McDonald’s Big Macs! 
Chili’s secures the title of America's Saltiest Restaurant for a simple reason: The salad below is the only meal with fewer than 1,000 milligrams on the menu! In fact, the vast majority of meals range between 3,000 and 4,500 milligrams per plate! Know that if you’re going to Chili’s, your blood pressure is in for a rocky ride.

The #1 Saltiest Food in America

P.F. Chang’s Pork Double Pan Fried Noodles1,652 calories
84 g fat (12 g saturated)
7,900 mg sodium
SODIUM EQUIVALENT: Five full-size bags of Ruffles potato chips—that’s roughly 600 chips!
We searched long and hard for a dish that could unseat this one as the #1 Saltiest Food in America. But, fact is, nothing comes close. Sodium has long been the Achilles tendon of Asian cuisine, and P.F. Chang's is Exhibit A. That makes recommending better options a bit tricky. The dumplings and the steamed Buddha’s Feast come in at under 1,000 milligrams a plate, but the Garlic Noodles are your safest bet among the starchier options. Just pack your ACE inhibitors, study up on the 9 Ways to Eat Healthily at the Chinese Restaurant and order with caution.

Second Minisode!

Here is our second minisode, where we are teaching people how to make sauceless buffalo chicken tenders! Its pretty simple, and here is the recipe.

Recipe

Boneless Chicken Tenders or Breast sliced
1 cup of Hot Sauce of your choice
Teaspoon Cayenne Pepper
Spinkles of Red Pepper Flakes
Flour
Garlic Powder

Directions

1. Thaw chicken...
2. Make buffalo sauce from hot sauce, red pepper flakes, garlic and cayenne. Dip thawed chicken into buffalo mix.
3. Put dipped chicken into flour, make sure every inch is covered in flour.
4. Re-dip floured chicken into the buffalo mix.
5. Re-dip buffalo mix into four, and make sure every inch is covered in flour.
6. Warm oil to 325 degrees. Place buffalo chicken into fryer once heated.
7. Deep fry until crispy golden.
8. Enjoy

First Gluttony Minisode!

This is the first minisode for the Gluttony For Punishment webshow. This minisode is to teach people how to cook the food that we are eating. In this minisode, we are cooking and teaching how to make fries.

Recipe (Directions)

1. Clean potatoes (Peel skin before cleaning if thats what you prefer)
2. Chop potatoes to preferable size.
3. Place chopped potatoes in a mixture of 3 gallons of water (cold) and 2-3 cups of vinegar. Set for at least 12 hours
4. Take the chopped potatoes out and dry.
5. Set deep fryer to a temperature below 320 degrees (preferably 250), place potatoes in until its cooked through, but not golden. Take out of oil and let dry.
6. Set deep fryer to at least 375 degrees, cook until its golden crispy. Then there ready to eat, once cooled of course.

McRib is Back

For us fattys who love the McRib, its back for a limited time!

Has Nothing to do with Gluttony But Awesome

We at Gluttony have decided to do some post while we are waiting on the editing of our first challenge. So this is an article that we have found that completely interest us and makes me want to eat!

Fast food chains like McDonald's don't become global brands by cooking up the same old burgers and fries in every country.Chains wishing to hang a shingle in a new country generally follow a strategy known as "localization," tailoring their menus to fit local tastes. In some cases it's subtle (in China, for instance, you can get chili garlic sauce with your McNuggets) while in other cases the menu is almost unrecognizable (in India, you won't find any beef or pork at burger chains).That means that fast food fans in other countries get menu items that Americans can only dream of. Here are a few we wish we could have.

The Meat Monster (Burger King, Japan)

Photo: burgerkingjapan.co.jp

When most people want to put something on their burgers, they usually think of toppings like cheese, bacon, onions and tomatoes. The geniuses at Burger King put all of that on, then decided to throw on a chicken breast for good measure.

The result is the Meat Monster, a sandwich available at Burger King in Japan only. Perhaps the beast of a burger was meant to appeal to Japan's love of kaiju (monster) movies; in any case, we know it appeals to us. Bring this one stateside, Burger King.



McVeggie (McDonald's, India)

Photo: mcdonaldsindia.com

McDonald's has never been a preferred destination for vegetarians. While the fries no longer contain beef flavoring (the company discontinued the practice in 2001 in response to a lawsuit), meat-free customers still don't have too many choices beyond a few token salads.


Things are a bit different in India, though. Hinduism is the dominant religion there, which forbids consumption of beef and pork, and vegetarianism is widespread. The result is the rare spectacle of a McDonald's with no hamburgers. In addition to the standard Filet-O-Fish, you also get the Chicken Maharaja Mac and the McVeggie, the latter of which uses bread, potato, peas, carrots and Indian spices.

McZüri (McDonald's, Switzerland)

Photo: mcdonalds.ch

Starting this month, McDonald's Switzerland has starting rolling out experimental new items that cater to local tastes. While the McGrillschnägg — a sausage made from Swiss pork — certainly looks appetizing, the standout star for us is the McZüri, made from 100% Swiss veal. Yes, we said veal. The patty is accompanied by mushrooms and caramelized onions. Apparently McDonald's is a bit more upscale in Europe.




Paneer Tikka Sub (Subway, India)

Photo: subway.co.in

Subway's menu isn't as beef-intensive as McDonald's meat-centric offerings, so its 223 Indian locations aren't as unrecognizable as McDonald's Indian restaurants. But there's definitely some local flavor there in addition to the usual lineup for sandwiches, including chicken tandoori and tikka subs. And there are plenty of options for vegetarian customers, including the paneer tikka, which the site describes as "cottage cheese slices marinated with barbeque seasoning and roasted to a light crispness."



Krushers (KFC, Germany)

Photo: kfc.de

In the U.S., KFC has focused on chicken products and generally stayed away from doing anything too creative in the dessert space, but in other countries it's a much different story. KFC locations in Australia, Germany, South Africa and other countries offer a line of dessert drinks known as Krushers, which come in such flavors as mango, strawberry, Kit Kat and Triple Choc Crunch. The drinks are mixed with large chunks of fruit or candy (including sliced-up strawberries and Oreo cookies). To slurp up the chunks, the drinks come with extra-wide straws.


Bubur Ayam McD (McDonald's, Malaysia)

Photo: mcdonalds.com.my

Apparently bubur ayam — which translates to "chicken broth," according to Google — is a traditional Malaysian dish. And according to the English-language McDonald's Malaysia website, the Bubur Ayam McD consists of "juicy chicken strips in mouth-watering porridge, garnished with spring onions, sliced ginger, fried shallots and diced chilies ... just like mum's cooking!" We're guessing that this dish won't be coming to the U.S. anytime soon, but we'd still be curious to try it.



Trio Supremo (Burger King, Brazil)

Photo: burgerking.com.br

Burger King is now owned by a Brazilian company, 3G Capital, so we expect the Brazilian locations to have top-notch cuisine. And Burger King Brazil has indeed come up big with the Trio Supremo, which comes with chicken nuggets, onion rings and French fries smothered in cheddar cheese and bacon bits. The whole thing amounts to 1,072 calories and 58 grams of fat. As far as we're concerned, America is up to the challenge of this one.